Juan Salgado

1
Needs assessment for bottom-up police reform in
Mexico

• Juan Salgado
• Professor, Legal Studies Dept.
• CIDE, Mexico City
• September, 2009

2
Structure of the presentation

• Mexicos current strategy to combat organized
  crime.
• The need to reframe police reform in Mexico.
• Good practice at municipal and state levels.

3
Mexicos current strategy to combat organized
crime

• Open season on drug dealers and their likes. An
  all-out frontal attack on organized crime. A
  war-like effort to crack down mob structures.
• Allocation of (temporary) law enforcement powers
  to armed forces. There is no clear timeline, and
  no exit strategy for the current counter-drug
  operations.
• Massive media campaign. Measuring the success of
  their policies in terms of seizures, detention of
  cartel leaders and confiscation of property.

4
Mexicos current strategy to combat organized
crime

• Reforms promoted by the Legislative.
• Reforms promoted by the Judiciary.
• Reforms promoted by the Executive.
• However, there is no coherent package of reforms.

5
Mexicos current strategy to combat organized
crime

• The current federal administration aimed to
  create a single federal police body, merging the
  Federal Investigative, Federal Preventive,
  Customs and Immigration Police bodies, following
  the US Homeland Security model, ear-marking a
  significant amount of budget allocations to
  training and equipment.
• These bodies continue to be administered by
  different government offices to this day.
• This reform initiative did not have legislative
  backing, and involves the modernization and
  training of only 3.55 of the total number of
  police officers in Mexico.

6
Mexicos current strategy to combat organized
crime
Source Federal Public Security Dept,, Mexico,
Re-engineering the crime combat model, February
2007.
7
Use of armed forces for public security (law
enforcement) tasks in Mexico

• Problems regarding the rule of law
• Use of force.
• Accountability.
• Relations between security agent (soldier) and
  the community.
• Wrongful interpretation of civilian-military
  relationship in times of peace.

8
Structure of the presentation

• Mexicos current strategy to combat organized
  crime.
• The need to reframe police reform in Mexico.
• Good practice at municipal and state levels.

9
Likelihood to bribe a police officer in Latin
American countries Latinobarometro 2004
10
Ill-treatment of citizens by law enforcement
officers in Mexico City (2006)
PERSONS WITH CONTACT
Non-weighted data 744 Weighted data 1,519,623
11
Non-physical ill treatment of citizens by law
enforcement officers in Mexico City (2006)
Contacts with non-physical ill-treatment
(total) Non-weighted data 1105 Weighted data
2,296,201
12
Physical ill treatment of citizens by law
enforcement officers in Mexico City (2006)
The size of the non-weighted data does not
provide statistically significant data.
Number of contacts with physical ill-treatment
(total) Non-weighted data 20 Weighted data
63069
13
No one-size-fits-all police reform strategy for
Mexico

• Jurisdiction Federal, state, municipal.
• Roles prevention or investigation.
• Tasks desk officer vs. street officers.
• Regional approach urban vs rural, north vs south.

14
Minimal benchmarks for effective local police
reform in Mexico

• Improve recruiting policies, procedures and
  practice.
• Comprehensive and on-going training, including
  human rights and use of force.
• Effective accountability procedures (internal and
  external controls).
• Improve street-level supervision of police
  officers and integrity testing.
• Generation, systematization, and effective use of
  statistical information.
• Civilian oversight of law enforcement.

15
Structure of the presentation

• Mexicos current strategy to combat organized
  crime.
• The need to reframe police reform in Mexico.
• Good practice at municipal and state levels.

16
Good practice regarding local police reform
initiatives in Mexico

• Federal District (Mexico City) Citizen
  Protection Units.
• Queretaro Citizen Security Department (state).
• Naucalpan Public Security Department (municipal).
• Chihuahua Public Security Department (municipal).
• Guadalajara Public Security Department
  (municipal).

17
Risks of the local pro-democratic police reform
efforts in Mexico

• Generally short-lived. It is rather challenging
  to overcome the change of administration (every
  three years in municipalities, every six years in
  states).
• Increased citizen demand for hard-handed
  approaches to crime control, including sheer
  repression.
• Expanding role of the armed forces in public
  security tasks, with military elements taking
  mid-rank and high-rank positions in municipal and
  state police bodies.
• Lack of comprehensive approaches to crime
  prevention, involving police and non-police work.

18
How can the US contribute to improve local
policing in Mexico?

• Scoping. The amounts approved for Mexico under
  the Merida initiative are approx. 3 of what the
  Mexican government is currently spending in this
  terrain.
• Technical assistance. Sharing information on
  police accountability, civilian oversight of law
  enforcement, use of force regulation and police
  integrity programs.
• Promoting self-sustaining accountability reforms.
  Disseminate good practice across Mexican
  municipalities.